Machine for rolling rails



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

U. HASKIN.

MACHINE FOR ROLLING RAILS. No. 269,787. g P ented 1300.26, 1882.

, Email I 2 /44/51 Wm r ver [II-FL 2(012 fLJ/Lm/ I dun/w g/ayi i i z E i N. PETERS MLiIbu Mr. Wadinglon. 0.1:.

(No Model.)

U. HASKIN.

mess ED III I 3 Sheet-Sheet 2.

Patented Dec.26, 1882.

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Usrren STATES PTsN'r tries.-

MA DHINE FOR ROLLING RAiLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 269,787, dated December 26, 1882.

Application filed May 27, 1882. (No model.)

To all w/tom tt may concern:

Be it known that I, URI HASKIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Rolling Rails; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,,clear, and

to the latter by the hydraulic ram located be-.

low the housings. The upper section of the housings is provided with suitable lockingclutches to engage in recesses formed in the inner faces of the lower section of the housings,'and these clutches are adjusted to lock and unlock the sections by the action of a set of rods attached to their upper ends and to the piston-head of the hydraulic plunger. Fig. 2, Sheet 2, indicates a front elevation 'of a set of vertical rolls mounted in vertical housings, which are constructed and arranged in such a manner as to allow the two'upper sections to swingopen and shut upon their pivotal connections with the lower section of the housings. These upper sections are provided with a hydraulic ram and intermediate connecting mechanism to rem oveand replace theircap and toimpart a swinging movement to them upon their pivotal connections with the lower section, and are also provided with asetof weights, which are so arranged and suspended from the cranks of the housing-pivots as to causetheuppersections to swing together after they have been opened and the action of the hydraulic upon them has.

ceased. Figs. 3, 4, 5, (i, 7, 8, 9, 10, ll, 12, and 13 indicate the shape and position ot'thegrooved rolls, which are used from the first to the eleventh or last pass, and show the grooves so an ltlllgfll in all the rolls as to enable the railblank to be formed from a bloom or pile,and be rolled into a finished rail while resting on its flange instead ofupon its side, as has heretofore been the case in forming and finishing the rail.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts wherever they occur.

My invention relates to rolling rails from a pile or bloom at a single continuous pass, and is an improvement upon the mode of constructing and arranging mechanism adapted for that purpose, and described by me in an application recently tiled for improvements in rolling metals. 7

Heretofore rail-blanks have always been finished while lying upon their side, and as the blanks or rails possess but little ability to re sist deflecting strains while lying in this position they became distorted or bent in passing through the rolls, and consequently the rails required considerable straightening before they could be placed upon the market. The straightening operation requires considerablelaborand produces such injurious effects upon the metal that it is believed to be the cause of nearly all the breakages of steel rails when they get upon the road, for the strength is liable to be impaired by the rough treatment in bending the rail under the press with the hammer-gags cut on the flanges. (See rail specifications and rail inspection by Sandberg, page 211, vol. ix, Transactions of American Mining Engineers.)

The object of my invention is therefore to bring the rail out straight, in order that all or the greater portion of the straightening operation maybe avoided, and this object I obtain by arranging a series of rail-rolls in close proximity to and in line with each other, so that several or all the sets may operate upon the metal at one time, and by forming the grooves in all the rail-rolls of such a form that the blank or rail rests upon its flange during its passage through the train, this position imparting to it greater stiffness and ability to resist the dowir wardly-deflectingaction of the weight of the metal.

In the drawings, A indicates the drivingshaft of one of the sets of vertical rolls, which are used in the train, and isjournaled in aset of pillow-blocks, B B, which rest upon suitable foundations, and extend underand support the bed-plates B B, upon which the lower section, O,of the housiugsis mounted. This lower section, 0, of the housings is bolted permanently to the bed-plates B B, so as to be incapable of any movement, and is provided at the front and back portions of its sides with journal boxes 0 for the reception of the shafts or pivots c c, which connect the upper sections of the housings with the lower. These shafts or pivots c a pass through and are keyed permanently into the downwardly-projeeting portions of the sides of the upper sections of the housings; or, if desired, the shafts may be made square at these points and be fitted into rectangular slots in the downwardly-projecting portions of the sides of the upper sections; or they may be attached thereto in anyother suitable manner to cause the upper sections to swing with them whenever they are oscillated by the action of their oscillating mechanism. Each of these shafts c is provided atboth ends with oscillating cranks 0 to which the upper ends of the crank-rods c are pivoted, and the lower ends of these crank-rods c are each provided with a ball of a greater diameter than that of the crank-rods and of about the same as that of the bore of the sleeves or open-topped cylinders a", which are secured to the face-plate of the plunger of the ram. These sleeves c are provided with a bore of sutiicient diameter to allow the plunger and face-plate of the ram to ascend until the bottom of the sleeves strikes against and commences to impart an upward movement to the balls upon the lower ends of the crank-rods before the sides of the rods are forced in contact with the walls ot'the sleeves, the object of this arrangement being to allow the face-plate of the plunger to ascend some distance upward without actuating the crank rods, and to then allow the upper ends of the rods to swing freely with the cranks as thelat-' ter are forced around the arc of a circle in opening the upper sections of the housings.

0 indicates a lifting rod, which is screwed at its lower end into a lug on the forward portion of the face-plate of the hydraulic plunger, and is connected at its upper end'to the cap-piece, which secures together the top of the upper sections of the housings. This lifting-rod passes through a slotted bearing in a lug, 0 on the forward part of the lower section of the housings and through a slotted bearing in a similar lug, 0 in the upper portion of one of the upper sections of the housings, and the upper and lower sections of the rod 0 are united together by a pivotal connection, 0, at a point a little above the slotted bearing 0 in the lower section of the housings. of this construction is to compel the liftingrod 0 to move up in a direct vertical line until the housings cap is elevated off of the head of the upper sections, and to then allow the cap and upper section of the lifting-rod to swing away with one of the upper vertical sections of the housings.

D indicates the detachable housing-cap,

' which is formed of a cast-iron box, rectangular .part of the opening in the cap.

E indicates a wrought-iron ring or band,

The object.

which surrounds the lower partof the cap,and is provided with an adjusting screw to adjust the swinging side of the box tightly against the heads of the upper sections of the housings.

F indicates the hydraulic ram or other lifting device, operated by fluid-pressure, which may be used for opening the housings; and fand f indicate the inletand outlet pipes, respectively.

G G indicate a set of weights which are suspended below the mill-floor from the ends of thecranks, which swing the upper sections of the housings, and are made ot'suflicient weight to compel the upper sections to swing back into position whenever they are relieved from the opening action of the hydraulic.

H and H indicate the rolls, and I I I l indicate the roll-tightening screws. h and h indicate the guides, which are vertically and laterally adjustable by means of suitable vertical and lateral adjusting guide-rods.

Thedriving-shaft Ais provided with beveledgear wheels a a, which mesh into and communicate motion to the beveled-gear wheels a a, mounted on the lower ends ot' the vertical spindles which drive the lower sections, JJ, of theeoupling'clutches. Thesevertical coupling, clutch-spindles are journaled in sleeve-boxes a a which are let down into the lower section of the housings, and may be adjusted into position for varying sizes of rolls by means of the adjusting-screws (t a a a a a".

J J indicate the upper sections of the coupling-clutches, which are securely attached to the lower ends of the roll-spindles, and both the upper and the lower sections ot these couplingclutches are provided with ratchet-teeth inclining at a sufiicient angle in the direction in which the upper sections of the housings swing to enable the ready connection and disconnection of' both sections of the clutches during that operation.

K indicates the foundatiorrplates of the horizontal-roll housings, and k In the bed plates bolted thereon.

L indicates the lower and L the upper section of the housings, which are constructed so as to be separable at or near a plane passing between the working-faces of the rolls.

M and M indicate a set of locking-clutches, pivoted at their centers in recesses in the inner faces of the upper section of the housings, and are pivoted at their upper ends to a set of lifting-rods, which are screwed at their lower ends into lugs on the face-plate of the plunger of the ram. The lower portions of these clutches are provided with laterally-projecting ends, which engage in rectangular slots in the inner faces of the lower sections of the housings, in order to lock them during rolling, and are withdrawn therefrom when it is desired to remove the top section. A similar set ot'clutches are arranged in like manner at the back of the housings and are operated by means of a similar set of lifting-rods attached to them and to thefaceplate of the rain. 7

In the arrangement of a continuous train for rolling rails from a bloom or pile--sayof seven inch diameter-the successive sets of rolls are provided, as shown in Sheet 3, with the proper form of grooves for forming the rail-blank and finishing the rail while resting upon its flange during the passage of the metal through the train. Theserollsaremountedintheirhousings and arranged in close proximity to and in line with each other, so that several or all the sets may operate upon the metal at one and the same time, so as to rapidly reduce the bloom or pile into a finished rail at a single continuous pass.

In the above arrangement, as indicated by Sheet 3, the first pair of rolls will be horizontal, the second vertical, third horizontal, fourth verticahfifth vertical, sixth horizontal, seventh vertical, eighth vertical, ninth horizontal, tent h vertical, and eleventh vertical, and each set of these rolls are mounted in sectional housings, constructed as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In the above arrangement the first live sets of rolls are supplied with grooves to effect a reduction of the bloom or pile similar to that of the ordinary cogging-mill, as may be observed by reference to Sheet 3, and -the remaining sets with grooves to effect a-reduction of the billet or rail-blank into the finished rail, similar to that effected by the ordinary set of rail-rolls, the only difference being that the grooves are so arranged in the present case as to all allow the metal to rest upon its flange in passing through all of them, while in the former cases the metal lay on its side in the rail, forming grooves proper.

In the operation of my improvement the horizontal and the vertical rolls being mounted in their respective forms of sectional housings are arranged in close proximity to and in line with each other, and the metal, being properly heated, is entered into the first set and rapidly passes through the train, the rail-blank formed by the first five sets resting on its flange during its passage through the remaining sets, and coming out of the last set in the form of a straight finished rail.

It will be seen that by thus preserving the flange of the rail in a horizontal plane the weight of the metal will be in a vertical line coincident with the web, which, acting as a column, will present the greatest attainable resistance to the sagging and bendingof the rail.

Whenever the metal becomes clogged or jammed in the rolls and it is desired to remove the cobblers, or whenever it is desired to open the sections of the housings for the removal or replacement of the rolls, the operation is conducted as follows: The inlet-valves of the hydraulics of the horizontals are opened and their outlet-valves are closed, thus forcing up the plungers, which immediately impart their vertical movement to the lifting-rods. This action of the lifting-rods swings the upper ends of the lockingclutches outward toward the sides of the housings, causing a reverse motion of their lower ends and withdrawing them from the rectangular slots in the lower presses.

more work tit to go out at once, by which the section. As soon as the upper ends of the clutches swing out until the lower are freed from their hearings in the lower section of the housings, the full strain is brought upon the pivots which connect the clutches with the upper section, and the latter is raised up to the height desired.

The operation of the verticals is as follows: The inlet-valves of the hydraulic are opened and the outlet-valves are closed, thus forcing the plunger upward, when it instantly com- -municates an upward movement to the liftingrods attached to its face-plate and to the housing-cap and elevates the latter off of the head of the upper sections of the housings. At this point, when the cap has been elevated off the housing-head, the upward movement of the plunger causes the bottom of the sleeves on the face-plate to come in contact with the balls on the lower ends of the crank-rods, which, partaking of the upward movement, actuate the cranks and cause the upper sections of the housings to swing open upon their pivots, one of the sections carrying the housing-cap and upper joint of the cap-lifting rod with it during its outward movement.

In readjusting the horizontals into position it is merely necessary to open the outlet and close the inlet valves of the hydraulics, when the weightof the upper sections will cause them to settle into position, and the weight of the plungers will force the lower ends of the lockingclutches into the slots in the lower section of the housings and again lock both securely together. In readjusting the verticals into position the inlet-valve is closed and the outlet opened. As soon as the upper sections are released from the opening action of the ram, the weights or counterbalances attached to or suspended from the cranks ot' the pivots cause the two upper sections to swing together, and the housing-cap is then lowered down in position on the housings head by the weight of the plunger.

The chief advantages of my improvement are:

First. Straighter rails are produced, requiring little or no labor for straightening.

Secondly. A large proportion of the benchroom is saved by getting less rails to straighten and'to haul from the inspection-benches to the Time is also saved by turning out stock of rails in the yard may be kept low, so that a better control can be kept by the maker on the progress and execution of each order without having to stop to take stock of all the rails in the yard to be restraightened before the balance can be rolled, and as little if any straightening is required to be used the quality of the finished rail is far above that of the ordinary manufacture and the percentage of breakage during service is largely decreased;

Thirdly. The mannerof locating the hydranlics or other equivalent lifts below the train relieves the roof of the building of the strain which would come upon it if they were overhead, as was described by me in a recent application previously referred to.

Having described my invention, what 1 desire to claim, and secure by Letters Patent,is

1. A machine for rolling rails provided with a series of sets of rolls having rail-forming grooves, the flange forming sections of the several grooves being located in horizontal planes so as to allow the rail or blank to rest upon its flange during its passage through the grooves, substantially as specified.

2. A sectional housing for a pair of vertical rolls having two upper vertical sections mount- 41 on a lower section, in combination with a hydraulic rain or its equivalent located below the housings, and connected thereto by means of suitable intermediate mechanism to raise or open the upper sections of the housings. 4

3. The con'tbination, with a set of horizontal rolls, of housings separable at or near a plane passing between the \vorking-t'acesot' the rolls,

locking devices for connecting the housings, a hydraulic ram, and operating-rods connected with the locking devices and movable housingsections so as to actuate both the locking devices and movable sections, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4-. A roll-train consisting of a series of rolls forming a continuous mill, wherein the successive rolls of the series are arranged in a line, and provided with grooves in each of the series of the shape and relative arrangement with reference to the reduction of the blank, substantially as specified, for forming the rail while resting on its base, or on the side which in the finished rail forms the base, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

URI HASKI N.

\Vitness'es:

FRANK M. l-tuusn, GEORGE O. REESE. 

